Central Illinois Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bloomington, Illinois 61701
Saturday, June 16, 2001 11:12 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was flying a visual approach runway 20 at Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI). He said that everything was normal until short final when the airplane began a descent that resulted in the collision with the ground, short of the runway. The pilot said he didn't know why the accident occurred, but thought that a downdraft might have forced the aircraft towards the ground. The pilot said that he added power to arrest the descent, but it happened very rapidly. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. The weather at BMI, reported 3 minutes after the accident occurred, was clear skies, 10 miles visibility, winds 220 degrees at 15 knots, and an altimeter setting of 30.11 inches of Mercury.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the visual approach for landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/16/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1112
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BLOOMINGTON
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61701
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport CENTRAL ILLINOIS REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BMI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 20
Airport Elevation 875
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1115 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID BMI
Elevation of weather observation facility 875
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) 2388
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 4
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11018
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 16 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1354
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 27 2001 11:26AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office SPRINGFIELD, IL FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N75238
NTSB Number CHI01LA166
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-181
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7690315
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 14 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HOMER L. HEDMARK
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2303 EAST JACKSON STREET
Aircraft Owner City BLOOMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61701
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code BMI
Departure City BLOOMINGTON
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1000
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 1 2001 8:45AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 20
Runway Length 7000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --